The term “smart home” has been thrown around a lot recently but the simple truth is that whether we like it or not, our homes are becoming more connected.

With so many companies and gadgets all vying for a space in your living room it can be daunting to work out how to proceed in a way that doesn’t then give you a massive headache in six months when you find out the next thing you buy is compatible with anything else in your home.

Well thankfully we’re here to help. Here are our favourite home gadgets that manage to be both excellent while also being as universal as possible which means that they’ll work with just about everything else you plan on buying.

From the voice-controlled Amazon Echo to Google’s glorious reimagining on the WiFi router these are the simplest, coolest ways to give your home that upgrade to 2.0.